South Africa is an incredible destination for golfing enthusiasts.
There are hundreds of golf courses dotted around the country and many of them are top rated on an international level! Add to this the fact that the country boasts an ideal climate for spending time out on the fairways under the bright African sun and you have an almost perfect golfing destination! Have you always dreamed of going on a golfing safari, but want to be sure you are playing on the premier courses? Do you want to impress your fellow golfers with your expert knowledge of the local courses? Do you want to play championship courses that the likes of Ernie Els have played on?
Well, then this is the perfect page for you!
Probably the most famous golf course in South Africa is the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, which is home to the Nedbank Golf Challenge that offers the biggest first prize of any golf tournament in the world – 2 million Rand! However, South Africa is blessed with many other world-class courses that have featured on both the European PGA Tour as well as the local Sunshine Tour. Each course has their own unique setting, from fairways in the bush where zebra roam freely, to the greens of the coast where welcoming breezes blow off the ocean. To old style country club city settings.
Go on - Tee off in Africa!
As mentioned there are too many golf courses in South Africa for me to list them all in this blog, so I have selected my favourite courses – based on the course, its location and its challenge! There is nothing official about my selection, they are just my favourites!
1. Leopard Creek
Designed by: Gary Player
Type: Parklands golf course
Holes: 18
Par: 72
Fairway Grass: Kikuyu Greens
Grass: Bent grass
Length: 6533 (Ladies: 5106m)
Rated the best course in South Africa, and 25th in the world outside the US by Golf Digest USA, Leopard Creek is situated on the border of the world-famous Kruger National Park and was specifically designed by Gary Player to blend in with the surroundings! It takes advantage of the natural environment, which is home to Africa's "big five" - lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo - and over 200 species of birds that make their homes in the surrounding trees, some of which are over 100 years old. Players are protected from the wildlife by means of innovative architectural and landscaping techniques - although water hazards might include the odd hippopotamus or crocodile! The 510 meter par-five fourth is one of Leopard Creek's most memorable holes. Here the green is right on the edge of the Crocodile River but 32 meters above the level of the water, offering magnificent views up the river and into the Kruger Park.
2. Gary Player Country Club
Designed by: Gary Player & Ron Kirby
Type: Parklands golf course
Holes: 18
Par: 72
Fairway Grass: Kikuyu Greens
Grass: Bent grass
Length: 6938m
This world renowned golf course designed by Gary Player is located at Sun City in the North West Province. It is host to the Nedbank Challenge. The Gary Player Country Club is acknowledged as a difficult and demanding course and it features two holes that have ranked in Golf Online's list of the 500 best holes in golf: the 520 metre par-five ninth, and the 402 metre par-four eighteenth. Golf Digest USA has ranked the course at number 29 in the world outside the US. The course requires stamina and accuracy from players, and the rough is especially punishing. The comparatively flat nature of the golf course is misleading - water hazards, cunningly sited bunkers and pins hidden away on kidney shaped greens makes up for the lack of gradient. Multiple tees make this course both enjoyable and playable for the keen novice and the skilled professional. With pristine perfect kikuyu fairways and excellent bent grass greens the course is kept in perfect condition all year round.
3. Wild Coast Country Club
Designed by: Robert Trent Jones Jnr.
Type: Coastal Golf Course
Holes: 18
Par: 74
Fairway Grass: Cynodon Greens
Grass: Paspalum
Length: 6000m
The Wild Coast Sun Country Club is a rugged beauty of a course, situated in the Eastern Cape. World-renowned golf course architect, Robert Trent Jones, has used the dramatic coastal setting to maximum effect, designing an interesting and challenging course with some unforgettable features. Since it was opened in 1983, the Wild Coast Sun course has established itself as one of South Africa's best and is ranked in the top 10 in South Africa. Carts are compulsory but this does not detract from the competitive challenge. It is an extraordinary experience for the golfer because of the incredible natural beauty of the surroundings. Some of South Africa's finest and certainly most dramatic golf holes can be found here. The thirteenth, a par 3 played across a waterfall is generally regarded the best short hole in the country. And for drama nothing can match the outstanding par 5, twelfth. Here the drive is hit from a high elevated tee to a fairway far below that snakes its way through a valley flanked by a dam and stream on the left with a natural hillock on the right. Players like Seve Ballesteros, Ian Palmer, Fred Couples, Ian Woosman and Mark McNulty to name a few have had the thrill of playing here on the Sunshine Tour.
4. Fancourt Hotel, Country Club and Golf Estate – The Links
Designed by: Gary Player
Type: Links golf course
Holes: 18
Par: 72
Fairway Grass: Cool season bent Greens
Grass: Cool season bent
Length: 5530m
Located on the picturesque Garden Route, in the Western Cape, The Links at Fancourt hosted a memorable 2003 Presidents Cup clash between the USA and the International Team, as well as the inaugural Women's World Cup of Golf in 2005. Ranked 59th in the world outside the US by Golf Digest USA, the course is unique in South Africa. Gary Player's design took a marvel of construction to piece together, with over 700 000 cubic metres of earth being moved to create a typical Links-style course on what had been a flat piece of land. Perhaps the most eye-catching hole is the par-three second, with a bunker in the heart of the green. Despite the challenge of the bunker, Player reckons the contours on the green can be used to get the ball near the flag.
5. Arabella Country Club
Designed by: Peter Matkovich
Type: Combination Links and Parklands
Holes: 18
Par: 72
Fairway Grass: Kikuyu Greens
Grass: Bent Grass
Length: 6300m
Bordering the largest natural lagoon in South Africa, with the ninth, seventeenth, and eighteenth running parallel to the water, Arabella Country Club, Kleinmond, (just outside of Hermanus) provides both a wonderful golf challenge and an eye-catching landscape. Designed by top local designer Pete Matkovich, the course has been ranked 100th in the world outside the US by Golf Digest USA. It made a strong impact when Golf Digest named it the best new course in South Africa in 1999, and it has kept up the high standard it set early on, featuring regularly as one of South Africa's top-10 courses. Choosing a signature hole proves to be an extremely difficult task as all of the holes are well designed with spectacular views.
6. Durban Country Club
Designed by: George Waterman and LB Walters. Re-designed by Gary Player
Type: Semi-links golf course
Holes: 18
Par: 72
Fairway Grass: Cynodon Greens
Grass: Paspalum
Length: 6111m (Ladies: 5294m)
The Durban Country Club, located in KwaZulu Natal has hosted more South African Open Championships than any other in the country, with a list of winners that includes Gary Player, Bobby Locke, Bob Charles, Ernie Els and Tim Clark. Built on old swampland surrounded by high dunes, the semi links course blends into its surroundings as it undulates along the coastline a short distance from the Indian Ocean. With its dense bush, indigenous trees and undulating fairways it is hard to believe that this spectacular championship course is actually situated in the centre of Durban. Extremely challenging to the most skilled golfer, the course will be enjoyed, but rarely mastered. Elevated tees and greens are guarded by an array of tropical bushes, tall trees and large bunkers. This, together with the narrow fairways and steep slopes make for a challenging course. Golf Digest USA has ranked the course 62nd in the world outside the US, while three of its holes have been included in Golf Online's top 500. These all occur within the first five holes, starting with a par-three 176-metre second, followed by a par-five third that plays at anywhere from 460 to 513 metres, and ending with a par-four 461-metre fifth hole. For some, the third is the best third hole in the world; for others it is the best par-five. Golf Online has rated it as high as 18th best hole overall in the world.
If you want any further information then contact African Sands
Happy Teeing off in Africa!